Compliance Regulations

Refactored AESDirect

In 2016, AESDirect (called Legacy AESDirect) will transition to ACE AESDirect (Refactored AESDirect). Early in the year, the transition will take place for WEB, EDI and AESPcLink filers, with Weblink filers transitioning in the middle of the year. More information on ACE AESDirect can be found here.

Container Weight and Mass Verification Requirement to take effect in 2016

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has amended the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) to require certified weight and mass verification for all containerized cargo prior to loading on board a vessel. The new verification requirements go into effect July 1, 2016 and will require shippers of all containers to provide the verifiable information to the ocean carrier sufficiently in advance of vessel loading so that the verification can be used in preparing vessel stowage plans. The NVOCC/freight forwarder will be required to separately verify container weight and provide signed documentation to the ocean carrier when the NVOCC/forwarder is considered the shipper in relation to the ocean carrier. As the requirement now stands, NO containerized cargo will be loaded onto a vessel after July 1, 2016 until this documentation has been received by the exporting carrier. The World Shipping Council has published the requirements in their entirety, which can be found here.

Hanjin Shipping has provided a PowerPoint Presentation which explains SOLAS and how to comply with the regulations. A PDF of the PowerPoint can be downloaded here.

FMCSA Driver Logs

Some sections of the FMCSA’s Agency’s Hours of Service (HOS) have delayed enforcement until Congress receives a final report from the Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Restart Study. It is expected that the entire HOS will be enforced sometime in 2016, including the mandate for electronic logs. More information on the HOS can be found here.

Internal Transaction Number. It is the AES generated number assigned to a shipment confirming that the EEI was accepted and is on file in the AES. For more information, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (here).